NEW YORK, Jan 14, 2026, 06:39 EST — Premarket
- UNG slipped roughly 0.3% in premarket, easing back after two solid days.
- NYMEX Henry Hub February natural gas futures edged down early, hovering around $3.39 per mmBtu.
- Traders are eyeing storage data due Thursday along with weather changes expected in late January.
The United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG), which follows daily changes in Henry Hub natural gas futures, dipped roughly 0.3% to $11.29 in premarket trading Wednesday, down from $11.32 at Tuesday’s close. Leveraged ETFs like ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas (BOIL) usually show more volatile moves when gas prices shift.
NYMEX Henry Hub February natural gas futures slipped roughly 0.8% to $3.391 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in early electronic trading. Henry Hub serves as the primary U.S. pricing hub for physical gas deliveries and acts as a key futures benchmark.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration slashed its Henry Hub price forecast for Q1 to an average of $3.38/mmBtu, down from $4.35 last month, due to expectations of milder-than-normal January weather reducing heating demand. In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA also forecast Henry Hub prices to hover just under $3.50/mmBtu in 2026, then climb to nearly $4.60/mmBtu by 2027 as LNG export capacity and power-sector demand tighten supply. The agency noted spot prices could slip below $3/mmBtu on Jan. 9.
Despite near-term caution, the EIA projects U.S. electricity consumption will hit new highs in 2026 and 2027, driven largely by data center demand. This matters for gas-fired generation at the margin. The agency predicts natural gas will power 39% of U.S. electricity in 2026 and 2027, a slight dip from 40% in 2025, as renewables continue to gain ground.
UNG has been volatile this month, caught between winter weather concerns and ample supply. It surged 7.5% on Jan. 12, then added 1.25% on Jan. 13, bouncing back from a sharp decline late last week.
Eli Rubin, an energy analyst at EBW Analytics Group, flagged forecasts turning colder late January as the main force behind Monday’s bounce in gas futures. He also cautioned that shifts in positioning might add fuel to short-term swings. Rubin highlighted LNG feedgas nominations hitting a record 20.4 billion cubic feet per day. Still, he described the likely trend as a “test higher and relent” scenario, with storage surpluses weighing on the market. Rigzone
Commodity swings continue to drag on producers, even without fresh company-specific updates. EQT Corp shares dropped 1.07% Tuesday, settling at $51.59, lagging behind a mildly weaker broader market, MarketWatch data revealed.
The trade can flip quickly. If late January’s forecast warms up or storage reports reveal smaller withdrawals than expected, futures would probably take the hit first — dragging natural-gas trackers down alongside.
Thursday brings the next key data point with the U.S. storage report. The EIA will publish its Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report on Jan. 15 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. The last update recorded a 119 billion cubic feet (Bcf) drawdown for the week ending Jan. 2, dropping working gas inventories to 3,256 Bcf.
